Malphite vs Sion
Favorable matchup
Build vs Sion
The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup
Recommended items for Malphite: Sunfire Aegis, Thornmail, Frozen Heart, Plated Steelcaps, Kaenic Rookern, Jak'Sho, The Protean, Malignance, Randuin's Omen.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Anti CC
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Sion's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
After being killed, Sion will temporarily reanimate with rapidly decaying Health. His attacks become very rapid, heal him, and deal bonus damage based on his target's maximum Health.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 10s | 15s | 12s | – |
| 6 | 8s | 15s | 12s | 2m20 |
| 9 | 6s | 14s | 12s | 2m20 |
| 11 | 6s | 13s | 12s | 1m40 |
| 16 | 6s | 11s | 10s | 1m |
| 18 | 6s | 11s | 8s | 1m |
Playing as Malphite
Tips to maximize your impact
- Wait for them to group for R
Save Unstoppable Force (R) for when the enemy carries are grouped: nothing stops your charge, and the impact knocks every enemy in the area into the air.
- Steal speed with Seismic Shard
Cast Seismic Shard (Q) before engaging or to escape: it slows the target and gives you the speed it steals.
- Trade with your shield up
Take your trades while Granite Shield (passive) is up: it absorbs 10% of your max health, and Thunderclap (W) then triples your bonus armor.
- Ground Slam against attackers
Against a champion who lives on autos, start your trades with Ground Slam (E): it lowers their attack speed, and its damage scales with your armor.
Playing against Sion
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- Leave his Smash area
Leave the area while he charges Decimating Smash (Q): past 1 second of charge, the hit applies a knock-up and a stun, for up to 2.25 seconds.
- Break his shield
Break the Soul Furnace (W) shield before he detonates it: he can only trigger it if the shield still holds.
- Dodge his charge sideways
Step to the side of Unstoppable Onslaught (R): he turns poorly once it's launched, and his charge stops on the first champion hit.
- Back off when he comes back to life
Back off as soon as he dies: during Glory in Death (passive), his autos are much faster and deal damage based on your max health, but his health drains fast.
Other Malphite matchups
Patch 16.21.1